Chord melodies benefit from these same qualities, with individual notes in tightly voiced chords sounding clearly and with great separation. The guitar has a sweet, natural reverb that lends expansiveness, and the high end is never thin or brittle. Single-note lines are especially satisfying, though. The M-140E works pretty well as a strumming guitar, though Carter-style patterns required a little extra emphasis in the bass and a lighter touch on the high strings to get the most balanced sound. The accompaniment for “Cello Song” (which has the 3rd string tuned down to F# and a capo at the 6th fret) benefitted from the instrument’s warmth, but the main pattern of “Fly” (slackened B–E–B–E–B–E tuning, 4th-fret capo) suffered from the 6th string’s slightly anemic response. Nick Drake used a concert-sized Guild (an all-mahogany M-20), so it was only natural to try a couple of his pieces on the M-140E. Not surprisingly, the guitar works terrifically well for fingerstyle country blues, and the fast response makes it very sensitive to picking nuance. The guitar also has great dynamic response for a small-bodied instrument-thanks, no doubt, to the Sitka top. Meanwhile, its voice has many of the classic, mahogany-backed small-body attributes: It’s warm and slightly compressed, with impressive midrange response and strong fundamentals.
#Guild westerly guitars reviews free
The action is perfect-low but not overly so-and the neck is free of dead spots and fret buzz. The mahogany neck has a comfy, C-shaped profile, and the 24 3/4" scale and wider, 1 3/4" nut make stretchy chords and fingerstyle moves feel easy. The M-140E’s diminutive dimensions make it very comfortable to play. My only minor complaint might be the high-gloss polyurethane finish, which is applied a bit thick in spots. The NuBone nut and saddle are perfectly notched, and the fretwork is clean. The mahogany in particular has beautiful grain structure and coloration, and all of the binding is tight and flush with the body. And the Fishman Sonitone electronics offer amplification flexibility via discrete, soundhole-mounted controls rather than a hunk of plastic on the side of the guitar. More luxurious details, like a mother-of-pearl rosette and rosewood headstock cap, are nice flourishes. It sports the same headstock logo seen on ’60s Guilds, a vintage-looking tortoiseshell pickguard, and open-geared tuners that add to the old-school effect. With a solid Sitka spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, the M-140E is an attractive guitar with just enough upmarket details to feel a bit fancy without spoiling the intrinsically attractive lines. The M-140E has many of the classic, mahogany-backed small-body attributes: It’s warm and slightly compressed, with impressive midrange response and strong fundamentals. Several classic Guild body styles turn up in the line, including the concert-sized M-140E reviewed here. The guitars pay homage to Guild’s Rhode Island history in more than name, however. Given this change, it’s no surprise the company would reassert its roots and history by lending the Westerly handle to this new line of Chinese-built acoustics. Guild recently changed hands after a few decades in the hands of Fender, moving its headquarters to Oxnard, California, where it’s now a subsidiary of Cordoba Music Group. The Rhode Island instruments were also original and innovative: That cutaway dreadnought profile that’s so ubiquitous now was a pioneering move by Guild in 1972. They were well made at a time when some bigger companies were seeing quality slip, and several of these Guilds-acoustics, electrics, and basses-became axes of choice for young, rule-breaking players of the era. Today, many players and collectors love those Rhode Island-built instruments, particularly ones from the mid ’60s. Pre 73 is a sweet spot for Guilds and mine has continued to grow on me these last six or seven years.In 1966, Guild Guitars-then just 13 years into its existence-moved from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Westerly, Rhode Island. I will probably never own a D 18, primarily because my Guild D 35 is so good. Cordova at least are guitar people and not some private equity group. Confusing, ya think?īut the Guild balanced tone survives, and true, you won’t get one to sound like a Martin. Now they are making them in the US again. Now people say they have a Westerly Guild, and in a sense they do, but a Westerly Guild will always be a Guild made in Westerly, just as there are New York Martins.īut Gibson has made an industry of using the Epiphone name, and I can’t tell you how many people have told me they could buy a Texan for $500.
#Guild westerly guitars reviews series
While they were getting the US production back up and running, they rolled out the Westerly series of MIC instruments. But Guild through various ownerships is still Guild, just as Gibson is Gibson. Guild is not the only company to use it's heritage to confuse people.